Being a strong female character

Although I had scheduled all of the appointments before I knew I was going to be unemployed, I just finished the last of them, so it feels like this time has been very much about taking care of business. My teeth have been examined and cleaned, eyes checked and new glasses ordered, regular doctor and endocrinologist visited, and I finally got my hair cut. It had been September! My layers and ends were in sore need of maintenance.

I hadn't gone because of money. I was filling my hairdresser in on all of the things that had been leading to financial stress and belt-tightening, and it wasn't until I was relaying it to her that I realized something. I finally got all of the money issues caught up on February 19th. I got laid off on February 25th. It was less than a week of calm. I did not appreciate it enough.

Tina was supportive and encouraging, and one thing she said was that if all of this was happening to her she would fall over.

I don't believe that's true. She handles the things that happen to her, and I believe she would handle this. It would look different, because we are different people, but she would.

Periodically there are discussions of "strong female characters", or whether certain characters are feminist, and of course the Bechdel test. I pay attention to that because representation is important to me, and feminism, and also good writing.

I had been thinking about it a little more lately as my sisters and I have been enjoying "CHiPs" reruns. There was a two-part episode with some female trainees (they're coming back soon for an episode that was a spin-off attempt), and they were just obnoxious. Also Bonnie suddenly took a turn for the shrill the other night, which was different for her. Usually her niche is background competence and dazzling smiles.

I think for Bonnie, the issue is worse writing staff. It's about the right season for that to happen (5), based on other shows I like. With the trainees (from the previous season), there were things about the writing that worked well, especially Ponch having to give his trainee essentially the same lecture that Getraer gave him earlier. However, nothing felt realistic about the women. That is probably a decent writer who is male and can only really comprehend males.

In these cases, there will often still be a conscientious attempt to make the woman not conform to the stereotypical idea of a woman, but that might be done by making her brash and impulsive, while really tough - hence the "strong" in strong female character.

Women have other options for being strong besides imitating men, but one of the things I had been thinking earlier is that I have written very few characters that would describe themselves as strong. Sarah in the Family Blood series wouldn't; if she had been strong she should have been able to save her brother. As she progresses in her martial arts training she may eventually feel stronger, but she would probably still never use that as an adjective for herself. Other people might use it about her.

That's not that a woman shouldn't be able to know her own strength either. There are a few in the screenplays that probably do, and some secondary characters as well. Mostly, that is probably a reflection of my hyper awareness of my own shortcomings, but also I keep going and doing what needs to be done. Some of the people that I spend the most time writing end up being like that too. But that's not about feeling strong or brave, which almost never happens. Instead it's about doing what's right, and pushing through, and generally facing it head on.

Perhaps I need to branch out more, but one thing that works well is that my characters feel human to me, and real. I try to give that to all of them, not just the main ones. It helps if you can imagine lots of different lives and motivations and relationships.

There was a quote recently that I thought expressed it well, from Kate McKinnon about Paul Feig:

"Paul has let women be tough cops, CIA operatives, and lovable drunken flailing losers… but his most revolutionary act has not been just in casting women as scientists and badasses. We’ve seen that before-ish. No, his true subversion lies in creating female protagonists who are striving for the universal goals of friendship, connectedness, justice, and personal growth. These golden fleeces have always been the sole province of male protagonists. They don’t call it an everyman for nothing, and by building stories around female protagonists who are striving not for romance but simply to become their best selves, he has permanently changed the game for us all."

The first woman on film who talked tough and drank hard and was an ace shot could have been revolutionary. She may also have been largely defined by her relationship with and desire for a man. There's more complexity available, and it's a lot more interesting. Using that can result in much better movies, but it can also result in a better world where individuals are more valued.

At least those are my basic goals.